The present invention relates to a lawn tool and particularly to a hand-held lawn tool having a motor, a shaft assembly extending from the motor, and an implement for doing lawn work coupled to a bottom end of the shaft assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a quick-release component connector that connects components of the lawn tool together.
Hand-held lawn tools having a motor at one end and some sort of lawn tool implement at the other end are known. The lawn tool implements of conventional lawn tools are available in a variety of configurations to accomplish a variety of lawn and gardening tasks. Typical lawn tool implements include, for example, string trimmers for trimming grass and weeds, saw blades for cutting thick brush, and edgers for creating an edge along a sidewalk. The implement of any particular lawn tool is usually best suited to perform only a single task, although some lawn tools have assemblies that allow the position of the implement to be adjusted relative to a handle of the lawn tool so that the same implement can be used to perform different tasks, such as weed trimming and edging.
According to the present invention, a lawn tool system is provided including a driving assembly and a plurality of driven assemblies that are each separately and selectively attachable to the driving assembly. The driving assembly includes a motor and a first tube extending from the motor. The first tube has an end spaced apart from the motor. An output shaft is coupled to the motor and is rotated by the motor. The output shaft is positioned to lie inside the first tube and has an end adjacent to the end of the first tube. A first coupling member is associated with the end of the output shaft. The driving assembly further includes a connector having an adapter tube mounted to the end of the first tube and a trigger coupled to the adapter tube for movement between a releasing position and a locking position.
Each of the plurality of driven assemblies includes an implement and a second tube extending from the implement. Each second tube has an end spaced apart from the implement. Each of the plurality of driven assemblies also includes a driven shaft coupled to the implement so that rotation of the driven shaft moves the implement. Each driven shaft has an end adjacent to the end of the second tube. A second coupling member is associated with the end of each driven shaft. Coupling the end of any of the second tubes to the adapter tube mates the respective second coupling member with the first coupling member so that the output shaft and driven shaft rotate together. The trigger engages the second tube when in the locking position to prevent axial and rotational movement of the second tube relative to the adapter tube. The trigger is disengaged from the second tube when in the releasing position allowing the second tube to be separated away from the adapter tube.
The implements of the driven assemblies are configured to perform a variety of different lawn and gardening tasks. For example, one implement is a string trimmer, one implement is a brush saw, and another implement is an edger. It is within the scope of the invention as presently perceived for other types of implements to be included in the driven assemblies. In preferred embodiments, the second shaft of each of the driven assemblies includes a bent portion adjacent to the implement and the driven shaft is a flexible shaft that conforms to the bent portion of the second shaft.
When the trigger is in the locking position so that the second tube is fixed axially and rotationally relative to the first tube, the first coupling member mates with the second coupling member so that rotation of the output shaft by the motor acts through the first and second coupling members to rotate the driven shaft to move the implement coupled to the driven shaft. The second tube is formed to include an aperture adjacent to the end thereof and the trigger includes a tab received in the aperture when in the locking position. Receipt of the tab in the aperture orients the second tube axially and rotationally relative to the first tube. The connector further includes a spring engaging the trigger to bias the trigger toward the locking position.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.